Brother's Triumphant Return
by Shurpuff
Summary: Morgan's brother disappeared one day, without saying goodbye. Now, he's returned-and he's bringing home his loving family. Wait, seriously? Oneshot. Crossover between Fates and Awakening.
**AN: Yet another one for the Fire Emblem pool, this time exploring FE13 content! So convenient for the creators to leave this single connection between _Fates_ and _Awakening._ Whatever the reason, it's enabled me to think about this scenario. Spoilers for almost everything in both games. Hope you enjoy!-Shurpuff**

* * *

Every week on a specific day, Morgan took her younger other-dimensional siblings Owain the Younger and Morgan the Lesser to a spot outside the walls of Ylisstol.

Morgan would sit the two down under a large tree. She'd set Owain to one side, then little Morgan leaning against her. From here, they could see much of Ylisstol below.

Morgan would then crack open a tome. These two were too young for tactical primers and the like; no, she'd read them stories of heroism, of great adventures, evil plots and lords, and the heroes who defeated these.

When they could, they'd play a game. Role play. Tag. Pebble games. Though she'd tried to avert it, Owain was already showing signs of the Elder's persona; insisting on being the hero, and her always the big ugly monster.

Many, including her uncle Frederick, had told her that going to this place was dangerous. Without guards present, they'd be easy pickings by an bandit. Despite Morgan's impressive combat record, Frederick argued that an arrow would be swifter, and hunters could travel through the bushes unseen until the last, fatal moment.

Her father, arguably the final say in such arguments, had recommended a slightly altered aerial patrol. The solution was considered acceptable to all, and ever since, the shadow of a pegasus would occasionally pass over their heads, never failing to make younger Morgan laugh.

When asked, Morgan always insisted that it was necessary for her part in raising the future prince and princess. "A life free of four constraining stone walls, where the ceiling is blue and infinite, the floor earthy and wet, and the walls spread as far as the horizon."

Her parents alone knew the deeper reason. Father had confessed to her, one day after he'd returned to them as a miracle for the ages, that when he'd crested the top of this very hill he'd beheld Ylisstol like so, and there he remembered that here was the core of everything he'd fought to protect, this was the place he'd died for.

He and mother had then shared an intimate moment, and this hill may well symbolize the site where they'd renewed their vows to each other, where each acknowledged that he'd returned to their family and would remain at their sides for years to come.

Taking her other-dimensional siblings here was the ultimate of sentiments, perhaps ingraining in their minds the special nature of this place, that they might regard it as such when they grew.

Only Morgan knew a much more simple reason.

It wasn't so heartwarming.

She was sometimes here, because here was where her stupid carrier pigeon had been trained to arrive.

"Stupid" was too kind an epithet for the useless bird! The super-secret, furtive carrier bird was supposed to be the pinnacle of carrier pigeon technology. It was a specially bred kind from Valm, held numerous enchantments, been blessed for good measure, then fitted with a sophisticated carrying apparatus, ensuring that letters never fell.

Then, during the trial run, Morgan had chosen this place, thinking the bird could be retrained.

It couldn't.

Now, instead of receiving secret super-duper need-to-know missives in the warmth and safety of her own chambers, she was forced to trek all the way here.

She had to bring ink, she had to bring paper, she had to bring a hard surface, and it was almost always a big heavy tome.

She needed to bring some excuse for being here, and that was her siblings.

She had to contend with it being a wholly dangerous area, and had to involve her father in solving the major security issue.

The Exalt's nephew _and_ niece, plus the mysterious woman who was said to be the Grandmaster's apprentice? Ideally there'd be two detachments of guards at the ready, along with an entire wing of pegasi to cover the skies.

She couldn't wait for the time when they'd be able to replace the stupid thing. Laurent promised that he was working on something "much more advanced" but added that it would be taking some more time to complete.

Morgan could almost scream. No, she needed it _now_!

She heard a flurry of wings from nearby. "Right on time," she said without much enthusiasm. The bird circled, then landed on her outstretched arm. Smaller Morgan and Owan watched it land with delight. The bird waited patiently while she took the small roll of parchment from its finger.

The super-secret missive was part of the future children's communications network. A dozen pigeons were used to let the others know how one was doing, or to ask for help. As assistant tactician in Ylisse, Morgan was to be given the lion's share of info.

"What do we have here," she murmured, unrolling the parchment deftly with one hand. She recognized Owain's sign. It was enough for her heart to skip a beat, before checking out the whole message.

Any news from Owain was already good news. He, Inigo and Severa had disappeared from the network not too long ago, and that had been a troubling prospect. It was only mitigated because the three lived in Ylisstol, and though ransom notes had been expected for a few of those tense months, it never came.

So it was eventually surmised that they'd disappeared to parts unknown, without telling anyone. They'd be getting an earful once they'd got back, but there wasn't much they could do without alerting the Exalt or his _very_ perceptive tactician. Morgan could well imagine the ruckus that'd happen should either of those two find out.

Especially when it involved her own flesh and blood, her brother the irascible Owain.

Who according to the missive was-

"Holy—" she gasped. She involuntarily glanced down at the younger Owain, who was poking at the pidgeon with a small twig.

She read the paper again. Then read again. Then another time.

"He's _married?_ "

* * *

"What?"

Predictably, her mother answered with surprise. Then it was soon followed by a question, almost cold-blooded as she narrowed her eyes speculatively, "To whom?"

"It didn't say," Morgan said. And that was true. But there was something else she didn't mention, something that had been written on the letter that was so outrageous that she felt it prudent to leave out. "It's not to anyone from the future, if you're asking."

Mother groaned. "I so lost that stupid bet."

"You made a bet?" her father questioned.

"I thought he was gonna hook up with one of the older kids." Mother looked back at her. "Did it mention a name, at least?"

She shook her head. "It only mentioned the time and date. And that um..." she glanced at her father, who was also staring at her, albeit in a totally different way. It was almost like he knew she was hiding something. There was that saying Owain made about him: _Trying to outsmart Robin was like fighting off a cloud of flies with but a sword-it just could not be done, and if you try, you'd just look foolish.  
_

"...He wants it to be a private audience."

"Screw that, we're going to prepare a big old welcoming parade," mother declared, scoffing. "We'll make a day of it. Parties... games..."

"Perhaps we should invite everybody," father mused. "Make it like the good old days."

"Um..." Morgan interjected. "Some folks are kinda busy over in Valm, and there's been a succession dispute up in Ferox." She saw her father smirk as she displayed her knowledge of recent events.

Mother said, "Oh, don't worry. They'll come, won't they Owain?" They all looked at the little boy, who flushed when he saw that everyone's attention was on him.

Well, she knew all the future children would come. They'd want to know what had happened to him, and also to Inigo and Severa. She supposed her next reply via stupid carrier pigeon was to ask if he knew what happened to those two.

"Morgan." A while later, after she'd taken her leave to deal with "affairs", father stopped her at the corridor. "Is there something else your mother and I need to know?"

Five years ago, she'd have quailed and flushed, revealing her guilt instantly. But she was older now. She was obviously more experienced than ever bef—

"Morgan." Father gave her a look. It said, _I know you're lying, my little chick._

"Grrr... I still can't get one over you huh... Well, it's not really my place to say, Dad." She squirmed uncomfortably. She quashed her fingers together. "It's something Owain needs to tell you guys himself."

"What is it? Is it something serious?"

"No! No, it's not that. But it's..." she frowned, recalling that extra nugget of info she'd withheld. "But it's definitely surprising, let me tell you."

"Very well, I'll trust your judgment in this," Father said uncertainly. His expression smoothened. "And besides, I'm just glad to see your brother again. Or Inigo, or Severa. It was strange for them to just up and disappear like that, no?"

"Wha—" Morgan instantly realized what father had said. "Daaad! You knew?"

Father scoffed. He tapped a finger to his forehead. "Of course I did. You're not the only one with a carrier pigeon network." He paused, eyes drifting away as if a thought had occured to him. "I suppose it's not too late to say that at least my friendship with Tharja's actually got to be useful."

Morgan put two and two together, knowing what her father had implied. She slapped a hand to her forehead. "Idiot... of course. Noire." Noire who stayed with her mother, a mother who'd definitely report to father about _everything_. "Well, it was good while it lasted," she said with a shrug.

 _Network to be reconfigured_ , she told herself. _Noire, taken out of loop._

"I know Owain wanted it to be completely private, but what could be more serious than a wife that he wanted to tell us personally? Did he marry someone bad? A princess? Or, did he marry a guy? Is it because he's got children now or something?"

Morgan could still feel a childish sort of happiness at seeing her father this perceptive. _Close, dad_ , she thought.

There was a little piece of detail in Owain's message. Just a word, that changed everything.

Seeing that had blown her away.

She wondered what it would do to her sweet, old mother, who despite her age still looked and seemed like a young girl.

* * *

"Morgan, really! What's the secret all about?" Mother murmured heatedly. They were about to start the reception. The outer courtyard had been especially prepared for this purpose, allowing Owain and his wife to pass through undetected by way of an anonymous side-gate.

Owain had insisted on the secrecy, threatening to fight his way out of the city if he saw so much as a parade waiting or a crowd of people herding him to the throne room.

Morgan adjusted the straps on mother's dress. She kept her eyes averted. "It's really not my place, Mom. But let me just say this." She turned mother around. She was barely taller than the other woman, so they could see eye to eye. "Whatever happens, please remember that you are who you are, and nothing will change that. You're still our dearest mother, and father's love. Nothing will ever change that. Understand?"

Mother quirked a brow. "...What? Why're you saying all that?"

Morgan was about to explain when Cynthia came running in, breathless. "They're here! Someone from the corps said there's a really wonderful carriage travelling through the city!"

Mother squealed, following the girl out. Morgan followed, but paused at the exit. She scratched her head. "Oh well. Not like there's anything I can do oh gods Mom's gonna freak." She hitched up her dress robe and began to run after mother. "Mom's gonna reaaally freak..."

She arrived at the reception area, where Mom and Dad waited expectantly, at the front of the crowd. Uncle, Auntie and Lucina stood behind them, close but not as prominent. Assorted Shepherds, those who could come, and the other future children stood in a semi-arc around the primary couple. They were all dressed formally.

Morgan elbowed her way to a spot near Lucina. She glanced at mother, who seemed ready to bounce off the walls. She hesitated, then excused herself to stand near mother. She'd need all the support she could get. Spotting her, father made a quick, grateful smile, while mother practically glowed, seizing her hand and holding her close to her side. She was practically sandwiched between Morgan and father.

She heard the herald's voice then, booming through the courtyard. Mother's grip on her arm tightened, trembling.

"Presenting, the prodigal mercenary Odin, and the comely Princess, his wife Elise from the Kingdom of Nohr!"

 _Odin?_ From the corner of her eye she could see that her parents had silently mouthed the same thing.

All her thoughts vanished when her brother came up the steps. He looked older, for some reason, his features more tanned, and he had a few small scars on his face that she was sure hadn't been there the last time she'd seen him. For that brief moment, relief flooded her heart. Judging from the sob beside her, she wasn't the only one.

Then, the moment passed. Her gaze slid from his blushing, confident smile to the face of the girl holding on to his arm. She was dressed all in black, and had long blonde hair parted in two braids. There was a veil over her face.

"She's..." mother murmured. "Small."

Morgan squeezed mother's arm. "Mother..."

Although now that the two were getting close, she could see that the top of the woman's head only reached up to Owain's shoulders. Which put this "Elise" as slightly shorter than her.

Her musings were stopped when the couple paused a few steps away. "I bid you greetings, mother, father, everyone," Owain said. "I, Owain, have returned. May I present to you my wife—Elise."

Morgan's brows threatened to shoot up into the roots of her hair. That Owain could speak so formally was uncommon, but that he spoke this _simply_ was rare!

The woman spoke. "Good greetings to everyone." She curtsied, picking up the hem of her skirt. "I am Elise, a former Princess of the faraway Kingdom of Nohr. I hope this day has greeted you well."

A few moments of silence followed as mother, who custom dictated should speak first, stood frozen like a rock. Eventually, her pokes into mother's side seemed to get through, as mother shook herself free and began to address the two with a flowing, though stilted greeting.

Through the whole address, Morgan tried to subtly work her head over Owain's shoulder. Were they-?

The couple beside her stepped forward, to formally receive the two into their home. Morgan was able to stay behind, and began to sidle over to the side, trying to get a better view of the far entrance.

 _That's weird..._ He frowned at her brother doubtfully. He was currently being swept up into a bear hug by father. The murmurs behind her had started, each speculating or commenting on the woman her brother had brought home. Then, her parents turned around, to lead them to the assembly where the rest of the curious Shepherds would be introduced.

"Ah, please wait, Mother, Father," Owain said. Her parents paused halfway, looking at the two expectantly. They turned to see her brother glance at his supposed wife and then look a tad bashful. She was immediately struck at how intimate it seemed, like the small glances she'd seen shared between her own parents. "There's... some other people we'd like to introduce you to."

 _Uh-oh._ Here it was. Morgan sneaked forward. Now, more than ever, mother would be needing the support.

"What do you mean, Owain?" father helpfully asked.

"I'd like you to meet our daughter."

Mother took two seconds before she squealed. "Really?" Her eyes shone, as she put two hands on her cheeks. "That's so great!" She bounced against father excitedly. Father was also grinning widely. There was a collective "aaaahhh..." from the audience behind them.

"Her name's Ophelia, and she's just over there." Owain made a sweeping gesture behind him.

"Oh dear Naga... Well come on! Show her! My first grand-kid! Did you guys hear?" Mother cried joyfully, making a quick glance around, most especially to uncle Chrom, who was bobbing his head with no small enthusiasm.

"Well alright. Come on in you guys!" Owain shouted to the entrance.

"Presenting: the Lady Ophelia of Nohr, and her husband, King Corrin of the Kingdom of Valla!"

"What." The word echoed through the silent courtyard. It didn't remain silent for long, as a big shadow appeared out of nowhere, and before she knew it, Morgan was bracing herself against a large wave of force that erupted from behind Owain, flinging dust everywhere.

"Enemy attack?" Father cried, shielding mother with his body.

"Battle formations!" Uncle shouted involuntarily.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Owain yelled. "It's alright!" He'd waved his arms around, trying to catch everyone's attention through the dust.

Owain's wife chanted something, and after a quick breeze blew through the courtyard. All the dust went flying off over the walls in a thick brown cloud.

"Jeez, big bro. Always with the big entrances," the woman said.

Morgan stared. She could tell the others were staring too.

Standing behind Owain was a creature. A dragon-like creature. Morgan was pretty sure it was actually a dragon. It wasn't like any dragon they'd encountered before; none of the manaketes she knew looked like the big thing standing there.

And sitting on the dragon as a rider would its horse was a young woman. She had on an elaborate dress, and wore a fine gemstone on her forehead. She dismounted with the help of her brother, then turned expectantly to the dragon.

Morgan felt a surge of magic as the dragon's form turned inward, reforming an instant later into a man's shape. There stood a man, who took the woman's hand, then nodded to Owain.

Owain moved forward, gesturing to the couple walking up holding hands. "Everyone, this is my previous liege, King Corrin of Valla, and my daughter, the lovely jewel of Nohr, Ophelia Dusk!"

"What," mother repeated. She took a hesitant step forward, looked at Owain, at the girl, at her wife, at the girl's husband, at her, then back to Owain. "Agwabubwaburfls..." mother said. Somehow, her mind had shut down, making her unable to form incoherent words. Morgan held her up, in case she fainted.

"Owain! What is the meaning of this?" father said for the rest of the stunned assembly. Chrom walked forward to join father in frowning at the visitors.

"Wait a second..." Chrom said. His eyes were narrowed.

"Ah!" cried a voice. It was Frederick.

"Chrom?" asked father.

"How is this possible?" Chrom said disbelievingly.

Morgan saw that Corrin and Ophelia were looking shifty, in a way that somehow confused Owain and Elise.

"What's going on, milord?" Owain asked Corrin.

"Chrom, mind filling me in?" father said, a little impatiently, looking alternately at the two sides.

"Years ago... this was way before everything started..." Chrom said, still staring at the two. "In fact, this was right before we found you at that field, Robin. We aided an army from a strange land... they were hunting-"

"Boars," said Corrin, with a grin.

"If those were boars, they were the smartest, strongest, and most heavily-armed I'd ever seen," said Frederick, glaring at the man.

"And during the battle, they said they'd come from the mythical kingdoms of Nohr and Hoshido."

Father raised a brow. "From the legends? How were they able to—" he glanced at Morgan. "Oh. So it's like that huh?"

"I never thought much about that meeting afterwards... since a lot of things happened then."

Mother suddenly shouted, wrenching her arm from Morgan's grasp to point at Ophelia. "You! You! I remember now! You! Talked! Told me! About-!"

"I am very sorry for having kept silent grandmother..." said Ophelia, bowing. "However, in respect for honored Father's wishes, I was only able to greet you, in the place of father, who couldn't be there."

Mother slumped against her again, and Morgan could hear her mutter "grandgrandgrandgrandgrandmother" under her breath.

"Yeah, and you know what the weird part is?" Corrin spoke with a tone that reminded Morgan of herself. "We fought that battle like, a year ago. And it seems like it was ancient history for you guys."

"Wait, hold it," father said. "I'm trying to piece this picture together. So you," he said, indicating Ophelia, "are our grand-daughter?"

Ophelia nodded, flushing.

"And somehow you fought together with King Corrin here, with Chrom, Frederick and my wife, way before I was recruited to the Shepherds."

Corrin shrugged.

"And way before I'd even fallen in love with my wife, let alone met our child." Father glanced at Morgan. "Our child who'd traveled from the future."

"Oh, so was _that_ the truth?" Elise asked Owain.

"Who, just months ago, disappeared to this land of mythical kingdoms."

"That was only months!?" Owain cried, mouth agape. He looked from Elise, to Corrin, to Ophelia. For the first time, her brother deliberately sought her eyes.

She shrugged. "Only a few months off the carrier network, bro," she told him.

"Oh, is this the sister you've always been talking about?" said Elise. She waved. "Hey, sis-in-law."

She didn't know what to say, her propping mother up on her feet. "Uhh yeah. Hi."

"I guess that makes you my aunt!" cried Ophelia. "By the blessing of this gemstone bestowed upon me, may your journeys be ever fruitful, auntie!"

"Auntie..." she repeated the word to herself, looking away. She saw that Mother was in a twitching sort of daze.

"Owain then proceeds to help you guys in your world, thus siring Ophelia, who then turns around and help Chrom—way before I was even in the picture. Wow, this is weird," Father concluded. He blinked. "Wait... how on earth are you... if I may ask, how old are you, Ophelia?"

"...Twenty, grandfather," she said, twiddling her thumbs. She'd taken a moment to answer, which probably meant she wasn't being entirely truthful. Well, not that there weren't other, more important questions to ask (like this Corrin fellow being some sort of manakete, or the fact that Elise and Ophelia didn't look that different in age).

Father's whipped his head to look at Owain. "Does that make you like fifty now, Owain? Owain, are you almost fifty? Oh gods, are you fifty!?" he exclaimed. She could tell Uncle Chrom was grinning-rare were the times that the Grandmaster could lose his composure like that.

"Father!" she shouted. "Focus, please. I can't be the only conscious, sane person in this family."

"And I'm not fifty, father. Gods..." Owain said sourly. He looked at his wife. "It's... we employed some special means to keep our child safe. In the process... well, she grew much quicker than usual. It's almost like the difference in time here and there... Over there, it's been almost two years, yet in here, I've only been gone months."

"I know it all sounds so confusing, but please believe us," said Elise.

Father shifted guiltily. "It's not that we blame you, Owain. We're all happy to welcome you back, and of course to meet you all, to acknowledge you as part of our family. But it is all so shocking, so please understand if we say something harsh. We don't really mean it; and we're just reconciling ourselves."

 _You haven't gotten to the truly shocking part yet,_ Morgan thought, eyeing her brother.

"For our part," said Elise. "We are honored to finally meet you... all of you. Odin—well, Owain's been telling us all sorts of stories... And I hope to be able to make a good impression on you all, before we return."

"I, as well," said Corrin, addressing Chrom and Frederick specifically. "I never really intended to deceive you. But once we realized we were in another world, we had to be careful not to cause a big ol' fuss."

"It's fine, we understand," said Chrom. He glanced at his sister, still somewhat catatonic in my grip. "Though we probably got off on the wrong foot, at least let me then welcome you-in a way, _a second time-_ to Ylisstol. I'm sure you're hungry and tired, and you can find a respite to both behind us."

"Oh, uncle," said Owain. "We're not done yet."

"Done?" Father queried.

"Well, this is still the audience part, isn't it? If so, there's still someone else we need you to meet."

Knowing what was coming, Morgan began whispering to mother, "We love you, he loves you, please don't panic, please don't freak, mom, please, please..."

"What," said Father, sniggering. Morgan's eyes widened. He sounded a little delirious. "You've got another kid coming?"

"Presenting!" cried the insufferable herald. "The great-dragon-sage-ruling-over-East-Valla, Princess of Valla, and daughter of Princess Ophelia: Kana!"

"Oh."

Another dragon came flying over to them, its arrival kicking up a smaller cloud of dust.

This time, Owain looked downright embarrassed, as if he didn't know what to say. He said something anyway. "Ahhh... mom. dad. This is my grand-daughter. She's the King's daughter... Kana."

There was a long, ringing silence as everyone processed that introduction. A sound, any sound, would have deafened.

Then mother began to convulse.

"Mother? Mother, please calm down... dear gods, she's foaming at the mouth...! We need a stave, quickly!"

* * *

 **AN: Well, that's a doozy! I also wanted it to be a doozy for poor Lissa. This is the reason why I went with Corrin marrying a secondgen character, to maximize the generation gap.**

 **I picked Odin/Owain because he presents an interesting lineage for Kana. Though I don't prefer it, it's also why Owain's parents are Robin and Lissa: to have a suitable Morgan as a viewpoint character, but more importantly to have a sort of uber Kana.**

 **Kana in this scenario is descended from the Exalted Blood, from Fell Dragon blood (mostly dormant or whatever the case is post- _Awakening_ ), and then having Anankos' partial inheritance through Corrin. Thus, a Kana with interesting draconic heritage. As far as I know, no other _Awakening_ duo enables the draconic "transfer" across games, at least within the constraints of the game's lore. Otherwise, I'd have Lissa marry a time-travelling male Morgan who was born to a female Robin and _Priam._ Or male Morgan born to Robin and Tiki... I'd even imagined some sort of super-beast Kana by having Lissa marry a part-taguel Morgan through Robin and Panne, but that was really stretching it. **

**Special mention to Owain's partner-which could really go in any way, since nothing special really stood out. Severa was the first one, but then it'd have doubled up more on the Awakening side. I ended up with Elise for that strange situation where the brother she looked up to and admired ended up asking her permission to marry her daughter. Plus, this gives Kana's descendants claims to two Kingdoms. (well, four in this situation)**

 **I mean, I'm not saying their blood and heritage makes them great characters and all-I just wanted _that_ kinda Kana. I even found it a shame I can't get a hybrid fox/wolf and dragon Exalt Kana without changing genders. The ultimate would probably be a Fell, Divine and Silent dragon/taguel/fox/wolf hybrid-the impossible, abominable Kana doing a juggling gig in battle with his/her stones.  
**

 **Severa and Inigo then, were discounted, though I'm sure one can write a good story for these two as well that involved _Awakening_ characters. **

**I'll probably be working on _Fate for Blood's_ endings next.**

 **Thanks for reading!**

 **-Shurpuff**


End file.
